Adient to work with Boeing on airplane seating

Only a few months after spinning off from Johnson Controls Inc., automotive seating supplier Adient is looking to lifts its business to 30,000 feet by collaborating with Boeing.

The partnership with Boeing, announced Monday, marks Adient’s entry point into the commercial aircraft market, and is part of the company’s push to expand into adjacent mobility markets.

Adient spokesman David Roznowski said his company expects to excel in aircraft interiors but won’t neglect its automotive roots.

“As we expand into adjacent markets, we will share our knowledge internally and with our partners to improve the experience of passengers in the air and on the ground,” he wrote in an email interview. “Autonomous driving … case in point.”

Roznowski said Adient plans to work with Boeing on an ongoing basis, drawing on its experience with vehicles in their goal of functional improvements for airplane seating.

“The company has advanced engineering, design and testing capabilities that allow us to explore ways to improve passenger comfort,” he wrote.

Adient, citing estimates from Counterpoint Market Research, said the aircraft interiors could reach $21.7 billion by 2025 -- an annual growth rate of 4.3 percent from 2016 to 2025. The industry is consolidated among a small number of providers, Adient said.

Adient CEO Bruce McDonald said in a statement: "Through discussions with Boeing, we believe there's an opportunity for Adient to raise the bar on the aviation passenger experience, building on our leadership in the automobile seat market."